Law firms on Long Island and in the Mid-Hudson region have been cleared to reopen their offices after months of business restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

In-office positions have been approved to come back in those regions, according to state officials who say key COVID-19 figures are down overall in those areas. Office positions are allowed back under phase two of the state's economic reopening plan, which also allows for real estate services, in-store retail shopping and "limited" hair salon and barbershop services.

Cuomo says the Mid-Hudson region moved into phase two on Tuesday and experts have cleared Long Island to begin the phase starting Wednesday.

New York City, hard hit by the pandemic, still remains in phase one of the reopening scheme, which places stricter restrictions on which businesses are allowed to open compared to phase two.

Like many states across the nation, New York issued lockdown measures as a way to blunt the virus' spread. Officials in general have been forced to balance reopening decisions with the possibility of COVID-19 outbreaks. 

At one point, New York's restrictions had ordered all nonessential employees to not come into their workplace. As the virus has waned, state officials have loosened the businesses restrictions on a regional basis.

Cuomo on Tuesday congratulated the Mid-Hudson region, which includes Westchester and Rockland counties. 

"The numbers are down, because you brought the numbers down. [This is] not government action. It's not an act of God. It's an act of the people," the governor said. "They got disciplined. They got smart. They did what they had to do. They brought the numbers down."

For office-based work, the state has released guidelines for businesses navigating the coronavirus pandemic. 

The guidelines recommended strict "clean-desk policies," along with modifying the number of workstations so that employees are at least six feet apart. The guidelines mandate the implementation of a health screening assessment for workers, which should include asking them about COVID-19 symptoms over the last two weeks.

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